Customer Guide
Order Flow
Reference guide explaining each service status, allowed transitions, and how notifications are triggered.
3 min read
Updated Dec 17, 2025
Service orders progress through a predictable sequence of statuses. Understanding the flow helps customers anticipate the next step and gives technicians a shared vocabulary when coordinating work.
Lifecycle at a Glance#
Draft → Scheduled → New → In Progress → Awaiting Parts → With Manufacturer → Ready for Return → Completed
At any time a job can move to Cancelled if the work will not continue. Both Completed and Cancelled finish the order and prevent additional status changes.
Transition rules#
- Moves happen one step at a time—forward or backward—within the sequence above.
- A transition that jumps multiple steps or repeats the current status is rejected to keep the history accurate.
- Every change is timestamped and appears in the order timeline with the user who made the update.
- Technicians can add a note alongside the status change to capture context such as part numbers or customer approvals.
Detailed Status Descriptions#
| Status | What it Means | Common Next Steps |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Intake information is being captured. The order is visible only to staff until submitted. | Confirm contact details, attach reference photos, submit for scheduling. |
| Scheduled | Work has a planned visit or shop date. | Technician prepares required parts or tools. Customers can reschedule from the portal. |
| New | The job is ready for the next available technician to start work. | Technician claims the order or dispatch assigns it. |
| In Progress | A technician is actively working on the issue. | Log labour, add diagnostic notes, update estimated completion time. |
| Awaiting Parts | Work is paused while parts are ordered or received. | Procurement team updates ETA; customer receives automatic notifications. |
| With Manufacturer | Equipment has been shipped to an OEM or third-party specialist. | Track return shipments; update status when the item arrives back. |
| Ready for Return | Repairs are complete and the item is awaiting pickup or delivery. | Customer is notified to arrange collection, invoice is prepared. |
| Completed | The repair is finished and the customer has taken possession. | Close out outstanding invoices and archive attachments. |
| Cancelled | The job stopped before completion—typically because a duplicate request was created or the customer declined the repair. | Add a note with the reason for audit purposes. |
Notification Triggers#
- Customers receive an email every time the status changes or when a technician posts a public note. Links in the message open the order directly in the portal.
- Technicians see new assignments and status changes on the dashboard. Alerts include items approaching SLA targets so nothing stalls.
- Administrators can subscribe to daily digests that summarise orders stuck in the same state for more than three days.
Example Scenarios#
Routine bench repair#
- A customer submits a request—status Draft.
- Dispatch schedules the intake for the next day—status Scheduled.
- The technician starts work when the item arrives—status In Progress.
- No extra parts are required, so the repair completes and moves straight to Ready for Return.
- The customer picks up the item and the order is marked Completed.
Field service visit waiting on manufacturer support#
- Technician logs the request from site and begins diagnosis—status New followed by In Progress.
- They discover a sealed component needs OEM evaluation—status moves to With Manufacturer.
- Once the component returns, the job resumes and eventually reaches Ready for Return before closing as Completed.
Understanding these stages makes it easier to follow a service request from creation to resolution and helps the whole team communicate consistently.